Notices by Raghav Agrawal (impactology@mastodon.social), page 3

The custom search engine client, designed as a mind map for fostering interdisciplinary research, reflects my desire to encourage creativity and intentional combinatorial thinking in the pursuit of knowledge, so this product idea aligns perfectly with my vision and goals.

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Another project is of a product idea I have in mind

The idea is a custom search engine client that stores and visualizes your search queries in the form of a mind map, which you can play with and form intersections of queries to find interesting interdisciplinary research.

Via it you're actively creating relationships yourself using your creativity; the interface just provides a fun, convenient visual abstraction—connecting/ disconnecting edges from nodes.

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This exploration involves investigating distinct social practices of learning via computers that do not have a real-life equivalent.

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My dream encompasses three key elements:
1. An edtech open design studio specializing in designing tools to assist self-directed learning and independent research.
2. A hybrid open learning and experimentation space similar to makerspaces.
3. An OER press.

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Ultimately, my goal is to cultivate and develop an imagination for constructing an ecosystem of tools and services that eliminate the need for competition in the learning process, thereby removing the reliance on exams. In essence, I aim to create resources, tools, services, and platforms that support self-directed learning, leading to an entire ecosystem of open education, open access publishing, and open educational resources (OER).

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Removing exclusionary criteria and the assumption that knowledge should be guarded based on arbitrary one-time tests opens up numerous possibilities.

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These beliefs align with my core motivation, which is the driving force behind everything I aspire to accomplish in life: combating mechanisms and criteria that restrict access to knowledge consumption and production.

Once you adopt the perspective that acquiring knowledge and skills is a continuous process, and that anyone can achieve it given the right freely available resources, the need for competition and comparison dissipates.

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In essence, I strive to do everything possible to develop tools, platforms, and spaces that democratize research and knowledge production outside of university settings.

Two fundamental beliefs shape my views on education and learning:

1. Knowledge, intellect, and learning are constructed and processual, constantly evolving and changing. Consequently, the concept of exams becomes illogical.
2. Expertise and excellence are merely a result of exposure.

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I am eager to engage with individuals who value critical thinking and imagination, and who are interested in open education, open pedagogy, open access platforms, personal knowledge management, and the "tools for thought" space. I seek to collaborate with those who strive to democratize knowledge and research production and consumption outside of traditional university settings.

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I hope to connect with individuals who are involved in building tools and platforms for open education, open access publishing, and OER. I am particularly interested in connecting with designers and engineers whose primary motivation is to promote free knowledge production and who deeply consider the inaccessibility of formal education. Together, we can envision an entire ecosystem of open access and open education alternatives.

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This perspective leads me to conclude that all we need is a robust ecosystem of open education, open access publishing, and OER. Such platforms would assist individuals in collaboratively curating their own curricula, facilitating discussion groups, and providing support and collaboration on assignments and projects. They would also serve as platforms for free publication and consumption of research.

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I hope to connect with individuals who possess a balanced approach, combining critique with inventive, speculative, and imaginative thinking, and who believe in the power of open education and self-directed learning.

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I was also reflecting on about why do I value originality and inventiveness and difference so much?

Why is that important for me?

And I was thinking maybe one factor obviously might be just because of Indian society where which suppresses individuality and creativity and originality and difference.

It it wants people to be same, similar, at least the older generation.

I think another factor is difference is good because you have a wider spectrum of things to experience.

I think that's why also I like difference and originality, because I just value experiencing or having a wider range and wider spectrum of experiencing things.

When you get to experience a wider palette of flavors for different dishes, it's a richer cuisine, right? It's a richer culinary experience.

Same thing, I think, for everything.

Like, if you just have a wider spectrum of different types of beliefs and values, it's just a more richer experience

So be it for learning, education, be it for any field, actually, if you just have more variety of voices, more variety of experiences, more variety of norms, it's just more fun. It's just more fun.

You need that spark of courage and curiosity or rather you need to maintain that spark of courage and curiosity, to even question and go against and do something of your own.

Even imagination needs courage I think and I think those are the qualities I admire the most.

I love to seek folks maintained their capacity for curiosity and courage in the face of adversity.

Where they had to carve out their own niche, be it in career or family, anything where they had to commit to taking a stand against the normative way of doing things.

When you have an experience that makes you want to question the flow of society or the normative way of doing things as opposed to wanting to assimilate/fit yourself into it, that needs an intense courage and curiosity for committing yourself to do that.

Because they had the courage and willingness to think and imagine creating/carving a space of their own for themselves by themselves they would be able to do that in future as well

If the tables turn against them, people with these experiences still can independently create or make something out of themselves just by their own wits, skills and imagination because they have had that experience before.

Conversely people who have just had the best grades and the best family and the best parents and the best everything in life and had no problem at all in life, I don't know, I find that so boring in a way.

Boring because I'm not sure if those are the people who think anything original of their own, whose thoughts and ideas and values and behavior will be just like everyone else & I don't know,

I just find that sameness/homogeneity little bit boring and monotonous

That is why I am drawn to individuals who demonstrate resilience, imagination, and courage, as they have the capacity to think differently from others.